So a little behind due to power outage but here it is my first tutorial.

During research for my little grey squirrel, I found a cute picture of a corn wreath used to distract the squirrels from eating all of the bird seed from the bird feeders.  While I am not sure if they actually distract the little rascals, I liked the look of the wreath and made a miniature version for my little grey squirrel’s photography props.

Here are some of the items you will need to gather to  make the wreath.

1. 26 gauge wire
2. wire cutters and wire pliers round tip
3. food coloring
4. rubbing alcohol
5. glue
6. balsa wood
7. exacto knife
8. toothpicks, portion cups
9. bees wax (used as pick me up on the end of the toothpick)
10. matt fixative
11. t-pin or you can use the wire
12. small seeds (I used millet seeds)
13. trimming for bow at the top

I divided up my millet seeds into some small portion cups. About a teaspoon per portion cup.  Add a little bit of coloring into the cup and spray with rubbing alcohol.

 I did one portion cup of the yellow, red and then a portion cup with a mixture of red and blue to make the dark purple.  Add the color by tiny amounts at a time as the color and the rubbing alcohol go a long way.  Stir to color the millet seeds and set aside to dry.  Have one portion cup with the natural color.  They dry pretty fast.  After drying, the millet seeds may clump together.  Gently stir to break up the clumps or rub them between your fingers.  I then put a mixture together of the different colors.

Cut a small section of the 26 gauge wire and wrap around a round object.  I used my spray bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Use your wire cutters and cut.

Grab your balsa wood and cut into small sections and trim using your exacto knife.  After I made my wreath,  I thought that I should have made some of my cobs taper at one end to mimic a real cob.  Next time, I will have to try that look.

Use your t-pin or wire to make a hole in the center of your balsa cob.  I scratch the ends of the balsa cob ends with my exacto knife tip to have rough finish more similar to a cob.

I then laid down a line of glue (I used Aleene’s ).

Not too much glue as it will dry too fast to grab the millet seeds as you place them.  Get your toothpick and add a tiny bit of the beeswax to the end.  Use the wax to pick of the seeds and line them up into the glue in a row.  I found that there is a fat side to the millet seed and tried to pick up that end on the wax and set the smaller side into the glue. If one of the seeds gets out of alignment, I would turn my toothpick around and use the tip to help line up the seeds.

Add another line of glue and continue to add the seeds in rows.  Try to place your colors randomly as possible.  The mind has a way of trying to make patterns and I find I have to almost not look but just grab the next seed without thinking. Continue all the way around the balsa cob.

After you get your cobs complete, let them dry and seal them with the matt fixative.

When drying is complete, place them on the wire ring and create loops on each end with your round tip pliers.

Close the loops and add your trim of choice to finish.

Thank you for following along .

Tina